Daddy, can I Play with the Ants?
by KK the Valorous
Summary: Hope has lived most of her young life watching Hank control ants to do this and that. She's finally worked up the courage to ask him if she can try.


It was a glorious day. The sun was shining through windows into the large mansion where a small family lived. The mother was away for the day, shopping and getting some me-time. The father and daughter were still home, however, and the daughter had a question burning on her lips.

A group of fire ants walked in through an open doorway, a white and black newspaper sprawled across their backs. They scuttled over to where the father, Hank Pym, was sitting expectantly. The fire ants then grouped up, standing on each other's backs and building into a small wall that lifted the newspaper into Hanks hands.

Hank sat back, and the ants dispersed back to their hives.

The daughter, Hope, had seen such extraordinary feats her whole life. Her father could talk to the ants. One time, when she was only five, a group not much different than the one she had just seen, brought her a cup of hot chocolate.

Her father had chosen that moment, two years ago, to say:

 _"Ants are amazing, Hope. One day I'll show you how to speak to them. Then you can get yourself your own hot chocolate, instead of having me use up precious brain space!"_

Janet, the mother, had chuckled, then rolled her eyes, snuggling Hope close.

Hope thought of that day as she worked up courage.

"Daddy, can I play with the ants, too?" Hope asked innocently.

Hank snapped the paper open, and looked at his daughter over the paper dramatically. He searched his daughter's expression before nodding.

"If you're ready."

Hope beamed at Hank's answer, dropped her book, and hopped to her feet. She ran to where her father was sitting on an armchair.

"Let's go!" She shouted.

"Later." Hank flicked his gaze up to Hope before continuing with his paper. Hope put her hands on her hips defiantly, and glared at her dad.

"Later? You _just_ said I could try!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Yes. I did not say when, though." Hank said without even looking up.

Hope glared at the newspaper. Then, a mischievous smile came over her features. She snatched the paper out of Hank's hands and ran out of the room with a child's grace, giggling all the way. Hank shouted her name, which made her laugh even more. She ran to her bedroom, and dove under her bed as she quenched her laughter, in an attempt to keep her hiding spot hidden.

There was exaggeratedly loud footsteps outside her room, and she dared to look out from under her bed. Hank walked past her room, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

What she didn't know, was that Hank was standing just outside her room, calling all the crazy ants he could sense outside.

The first ant ran over Hope's leg, and she drew in a startled gasp. Most kids would scramble to smash the ant, but she had learned long ago that ants were friends, and not to be squashed.

"Oh no…" Hope whispered as she felt two more ants run over her arm. She could see them bustling through the lit doorway, now. She recognized them as Crazy ants. They ran over her body, and she squirmed, trying to keep herself from laughing as the hundreds of tiny legs tickled her. She finally couldn't resist and she burst out.

"Give me back my paper, you little thief!" Hank called as he walked into her room. The ants ran off Hope and under her, pulling her out from under the bed with their combined strength. Hank took the paper from Hope's hand, and smacked her playfully on her head. She giggled.

"I won't ever steal your paper again if you teach me!" She shouted as the ants skittered away.

Hank put a hand to his head before groaning in defeat.

"Fine. Come on, Hope." He took her hand and threw the paper pack onto the bed. She turned her head and smirked at the paper, internally deciding that she had won her battle.

Hank led Hope to the dining room, and sat her down at the table. He, too, sat down and called nine ants to the table. Hope thumbed a small hole in the table as she waited impatiently. Finally, nine ants appeared.

"How about this. I'll give you a little quiz, and if you pass, I'll teach you right now." Hope looked at her dad and nodded.

An ant stepped forward, it was quite large, and it looked pretty blocky.

Hope recognized it immediately.

"Paraponera clavata. Bullet ant." She said as she raised her chin proudly. Hank nodded approvingly.

The bullet ant stepped back, and a tiny red ant took its place. The little red ant looked really… antzy… as it looked around.

"Crazy ant. Nylanderia fulva." Hope smiled. Hank returned it.

"Okay, okay… you impressed me. Now, Hope, the key is to clear your mind and focus on one thing as you talk to them." He pulled the earpiece off his ear, and Hope slid it over her own ear. Her ear looked dwarfed beside it.

"What should I do, daddy?"

"I want you to put them in a line." Hank said simply as he studied the ants.

Hope nodded, and focused on the first ant, the Crazy ant. Its thoughts were jumbled, and she had trouble gaining control. Eventually she did, and she focused on the next ant. As soon as she let go of the first ant, it walked away from where it had been standing at attention.

Hope glared at the first ant. She decided to get serious.

She closed her eyes and scrunched up her face, as she thought as hard as possible about a pencil, a necklace cord, a candy sour belt. She brought up every image of something in a straight line she had ever seen. Eventually, she opened her eyes, and saw that the ants were in a wavy line, that looked more like a snake than a pen.

Hope groaned in frustration and pulled the oversized earpiece off her ear. She thrust her arms up to cover her face.

Hank frowned pitifully at his daughter before reaching to grab the earpiece. The ants that were there walked into two dots. Hank decided he had too few ants to work with, and called another thirty. When they eventually arrived, Hope was glaring at the ants, yet curiously.

Two moved to make another dot below and between the other two, and the rest created a sideways D shape. The D closed and opened and the sounds of about two hundred little foot scuttles kept the room from silence. It was a smiley face, and it seemed to be saying something.

Hope tried to lip read for a few moments, before Hank filled it in.

"Try again. You can do it, little one." He said before the thirty extra ants dispersed, and the nine walked out of their shapes. Hank smiled at her encouragingly and nodded, holding out the earpiece.

Hope's seven-year-old hands took it from him, and pushed it back over her ear. She thought of a straight black line, and kept her eyes open this time. After a minute of coaxing, the ants made a mostly straight line. She snorted a bit, then told the ones out of the line to get back into it sternly. Eventually, the ants were in a pretty straight line.

She stared at them for a minute, a smile growing bigger by the second on her face, before she threw herself into Hank's arms.

"I did it, daddy, I did it!" She called, and as she broke focus, the ants scuttled away. She glared at their retreating butts before getting back to hugging her dad.

All she had to do now, was convince her dad to let her be a superhero like him. She smiled at the thought.

"Daddy…" She started innocently. "Can I be a superhero when I grow up?"

" _What?!_ " Hank shouted.

 **XD I just saw Ant-Man yesterday, at the earliest showing there is here, and when I saw it I fell in love with Hope. I was freaking out by the mid-credits. ;) So, here is the first of my many future Ant-Man stories!**


End file.
